May 2000 Report of the Secretary of the Interior

In FY 1999, the Senate Appropriations Committee requested a report from the federal land managing agencies that would assess the need for a unified Federal policy on the collection, storage and preservation of fossils, as well as assess the need for standards that would maximize the availability of fossils for scientific research.

Congress was concerned that no unified policy existed regarding treatment of federal fossil resources; and that the lack of appropriate standards would lead to deterioration or loss of federal fossil specimens, and to a permanent loss of a valuable scientific resource.

The Secretary of the Interior was asked by the Committee to consult with the appropriate scientific, educational and commercial entities as well as other federal agencies in this assessment and to report back to Congress. These agencies included the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Smithsonian Institution.